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Paleontologists from Madagascar identified a new genus and a new species of enantiornithine bird that had a long, deep beak, a morphology previously unknown to Mesozoic birds.
Falcatakely forsterae among non-avian dinosaurs and other animals from the late Cretaceous period of Madagascar. Image credit: Mark Witton.
The newly identified bird species lived between 70 and 68 million years ago (late Cretaceous era) in what is now Madagascar.
Named Falcatakely forsterae, belongs to the Enantiornithines, an extinct group of birds known exclusively from the Cretaceous period and mainly from fossils discovered in Asia.
“Enantiornithines represent the first major diversification of the first birds, occupying ecosystems together with their non-avian relatives such as Velociraptor is tyrannosaurus“Said Dr. Alan Turner, a research fellow in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University.
“Unlike the first birds, like Archeopteryx, with long tails and primitive features in the skull, such as enantiornithins Falcatakely forsterae it would have looked relatively modern. “
Life reconstruction of Falcatakely forsterae with its unique beak. Image credit: Mark Witton.
Falcatakely forsterae it was small, the size of a raven, and had a sickle-shaped beak.
“We don’t really know why some beak shapes evolve, but we do know they are used for a multitude of functions such as object handling, feather cleaning, feeding and other life-sustaining behaviors,” said Dr. Turner.
“In case of Falcatakely forsterae, it was probably the same and it is significant to find that this early bird during the Cretaceous period had such a uniquely evolved beak. “
Falcatakely forsterae is known from a well-preserved partial skull found in northwestern Madagascar.
“The exquisite quality of the preservation is exceptional and reveals many important details,” said paleontologists.
“For example, a complex series of grooves on the outer surface of the bones that make up the side of the face indicates that the animal harbored an expansive keratinous cover, or beak, at the waist.”
Life reconstruction of Falcatakely forsterae. Image credit: Mark Witton.
Using high-resolution micro-computed tomography and digital modeling, they virtually dissected individual bones from the rock.
“It was immediately evident that the bones that made up the face in Falcatakely forsterae they are organized quite differently from those of any dinosaur, avian or non-avian, despite having a superficially similar face to a number of modern bird groups alive today, “they said.
“All living birds build the skeleton of their beaks in a very specific way. It consists mainly of a single enlarged bone called the premaxilla. “
“On the contrary, most of the birds of the dinosaur era, like the iconic Archeopteryx, they have a relatively unspecialized muzzle consisting of a small premaxilla and a large maxilla. “
“Surprisingly, in Falcatakely forsterae we found this similar primitive arrangement of bones, but with an overall face shape reminiscent of some modern birds with a tall, long upper beak and completely different from anything known in the Mesozoic. “
“It turns out that you can create a modern-looking beak in more ways than one,” said Dr. Turner.
“The development base for the modern beak skeleton didn’t need to be there for a” modern “looking beak to evolve.”
The discovery is described in an article in the journal Nature.
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PM O’Connor et al. The late Cretaceous bird of Madagascar reveals a unique development of beaks. Nature, published online on 25 November 2020; doi: 10.1038 / s41586-020-2945-x
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